Hearing on Cong.maps starting now in #NCGA auditorium. 36 speakers planned. Speaker from (GSO) provides brief review of all the maps, criticizing them for lack of compactness and dividing communities. Second speaker from Wake speaks to the need to keep Wake core in 1 dist.
Susan McLanahan (Orange). Maps should reflect NC's 50-50 status. @princetongerry graded several maps as Fs. Theys bar free elections, set outcomes. @RepDavidEPrice won Dist 4 by wide margins--our maps should reflect our communities, avoid voter confusion, keep Chatham/Or linked
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice Caitlin Metzinger of Durham: you're not really encouraging or listening to voters participating in process, website too hard to use, Timing tough for working people. You're making it hard on purpose. Sandhills, Triangle should each be in one district. We'll be litigating!
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice Diana Ganakyba? of Wake: the stakes are high. For you it's win or lose, for voters it's a matter of our lives. Hope we can avoid court cases in a 50-50 state. CPK-4 & CPK-5 maps (Sen. Clark) are the best. Would like to know how comments submitted will be used. Summary required!
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice Cathy Wheeler--maps break up the 3 Triad cities rather than keeping them together. GSO linked with rural counties out west, diluting Triad influence. Wake, Meck also divided. These maps provide 9-12 for Rs in a 50-50 state, depriving communities of fair representation. Try again!
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice Francis Sovolavski of Triangle. Process to date has been tough to follow; some who share my concerns were not able to make it. Healthcare, education, etc. brought us here but gerrymandering undercuts our ability to access these services. Please draw fair, constitutional maps.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice Andy Jackson of @JohnLockeNC Criteria approved are not being followed by the maps or will not lead to sound maps (??). Speakers here hope to use hearings to seed future court cases (@lekhashupeck). These comments do not reflect the gen'l public. (....guess it's all a voter plot!)
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck Eileen Murphy (?) in Wilmington expresses need to hear from military community, who want Onslow kept whole.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck Brian Mathis, running for Wake county commission. Maps should prioritize fairness, but haven't seen it yet. @princetongerry scored maps. Only three got As, incl. 2 from @BenClarkNC, one other. Do right by the people of NC and do not attempt to hold power for yourselves.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC Phyllis Demko from @LWVNCarolina (League). CBK3 is the best map but wld still disadvantage voters of color in the east. You may have barred racial data to avoid court challenges, but this does not equate to racial justice. Politicians don't need to see data to gerrymander.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Speaker from Wake says the process is a fraud. Several maps appear to reduce or bar minority representation. The process has limited time to study the maps, screens are hard to see, process followed is unclear. It deprives the people of NC a meaningful chance to participate.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Noreena(?) Day of Hillsborough, schoolteacher. Keep the metropolitan centers together. Supports the Sandhills district. Keep the Triangle, Triad together. Please keep Orange and Chatham together--we have more in common than we do with the counties to the north of us.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Michael Rush, 3rd vice chair of Dems New Hanover. Cong dist maps lack proportionality, compactness, split minority populations. Best is CBK-5. This is another effort to cut off Wilmington by dragging it into another county. Only thing Wilmington & N.Brunswick share is being used!
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Another Wilmington speaker: uncrack precinct W-03 in Wilmington!
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Minority speaker (one of few) Let our community have a fair share to make their voice heard. We deserve to be able to speak our opinions and benefit from real democracy.
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Vickie Shea of Chatham, member of League, NAACP (speaking for self). Process limits public comment w/few speakers, a lack of clarity on maps. Chatham has grown quickly, will soon surpass the threshold for a district. 3 Randolph precincts don't have to be added to dilute our voice
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Linda Archer, Guilford/Fors. Our community includes GSO, Kernersville, W-S. We're growing, changing, non-rural, with issuesof rapid growth. Maps CBK-3, CMT-9, and ....-2 have similar problems. They start in GSO & head west to parts unknown. Our urban voice is cut! Adopt NCGA map
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina Speaker: We need to keep the Triad into 2-3 districts when it could be kept together and have snaking projections that our voters don't want. Doesn't make sense to add the new 14th to an area that has lost population (Cleveland Cty)
@princetongerry @RepDavidEPrice @JohnLockeNC @lekhashupeck @BenClarkNC @LWVNCarolina (note: no speakers from Caldwell as of yet, a couple from Wilmington). Angeline Echeverria from Raleigh, a child of immigrants. We requested translation, interpretation, didn't get either. Three of the maps divide Wake into 3 districts, wld prevent majority-minority represt'n
Andrew Silver, Carolina Jews for Justice. Lives in N Durham, Dem area, but these areas should be split along with Chatham, Person, Caswell, etc. to prevent packing Dem voters and reducing hyper-partisanship, leading to real gen'l elections & representation.
Kristen Habelick, w/New NC Project, investing in communities of color to make them voters for life. Maps released show little attention to engaging voters before drawing maps. Several maps divide voters of color and tie them into rural counties, leading to poor representation.
Manuel Mehia Diaz from Cumberland, speaking in Wilmington. Many of the maps divide Cumberland despite many requests for a Sandhills district. Limited time to see/assess the maps. #NCGA has no desire to keep us engaged. You have no interest in drawing fair maps. Keep Cumb. whole!
Speaker from Wilmington. My grandmother votes from a precinct that will not hear her voice, just as in the Wilmington takeover. This is an issue of morality. We're not asking for a lot; just be fair!
Deborah Beereiter(?), native NCian. You said you'd be transp. but we couldn't see what you were doing, couldn't hear what you were doing, so not transp! Only Sen. Clark's maps, tho imperfect, do decent job at fairness. Voters need to see their preferred candidate they CLD win
Caldwell? speaker: You included people from our far western area in with Guilford. What happens when our Congresswoman decides not to run? We will not be able to get good representation.
Wilmington speaker: maps shd be compact, competitive, respect comms. of interest. Some districts seem to be packed. This is definitely racial gerrymandering, may prevent us from having the minority representat'n we want. Public don't have time to make their comments (lost sound)
Hise calling several names of no-shows. Sounds like 15 names or so (didn't count...). Adjourns!
Virtual hearing restarting. Ann Morris of GSO/Triad notes her district would extend to the far west, obviously established to dilute some voters and raise up rural areas. Keep Guilford and W-S together so voice of our unique area can be lifted up!
Karen Heiser of Morrisville/Wake. Disappointed there aren't more hearing opportunities so more people can be heard. All R maps split Wake 3 ways, when only 2 are required at most. Map that runs Wake to Onslow is egregious. Cary, Holly Springs, Morrisville, Apex shd be kept whole.
Chandlee White of LWVPT/GSO. CMT-9 is grossly unfair, unduly partisan, leans R. They should try again to avoid lawsuits. Sen. Chaudhuri's map is his choice, keeping the Triad together.
Helen Wood, Charlotte. Reviewed 3 of the maps. None seems consistent w/criteria set by the lege; none acceptable. Does not keep counties, cities whole--split Charlotte into 3 or 4, when 2 would be enough. @princetongerry rates them poorly. Her community linked to rural areas.
Thea Carrera of NALEO Ed fund, working to ensure Latinos have a chance to elect representatives who will listen to them. Process has been flawed, not enough time to analyze the maps, more interactive tools, so as to reflect community, get fair outcomes, accountable electeds.
Karyn Creech of Wake Dems of Apex. Even precincts have multiple districts. She's had 4 different Cong. reps., despite moving only once, down the street. I'm embarrassed that we're on national news for gerrymandering; you have the rules laid out by the court, make our voices count
John Lingle moved here 21 yr ago, drawn by bipartisan rep. Sad to see court cases, expenses, draft maps that don't follow what public has asked for, lock in 75% or more of Cong seats in a 50-50 state. Fearful of more bad legislation. Map punishes growing areas. Pick a better map
Yuri Yamamoto says immigrants find this process hard to understand, need more time to understand this process. She wants fair representation for immigrants and people of color, so we can make America great.
Harry Taylor, Char-Meck LWV. Says maps are complicated, but what you're doing is not! Maps will stand for the next 10 yr, maybe, but we live in a democracy, we deserve respect. We don't want imbalanced maps. This is our state. We want democracy. If you won't deliver, move on!
Debra D. Process has been rushed, hearings poorly promoted, not time for us to respond. I want to see competitive districts so I can choose based on what candidates say. Very disappointed with these maps. Go back to the drawing board, don't make the situation worse than it is now
Sue Krokosz. Currently represented by Cawthorn and concerned by Jan 6, allegations that election stolen. Doesn't want maps that violate federal election laws. We are watching and are not going to tolerate gerrymandered maps taking our power away from us.
Ncole Peterson concerned that maps are biased, don't represent our purple state, only a few would even be 50-50. Tired of seeing her right to constitutional rights weakened, concerned she could lose her current congressperson who has worked tirelessly on key issues such as hunger
Donna Russou sees unacceptable gerrymandering, need for more time so more people can be involved, review maps in more detail. Loves her state of 17 years, but her heart is broken. Communities are being divided so she hopes for changes.
Carl Crosier of Beaufort, says he's very active in community, hopes that redistricting gives us effective representation, but disappointed by maps that treat the process as a numbers game. Maps link areas that do not reflect our communities, split us up in a bizarre fashion.
Aaron Hoke, Wake. Had heard this would be a transparent process, but only got the maps this weekend. Wake/Durham are chopped up like puzzle pieces, linked to areas with very different interests, rural areas. Will representation be aligned? These maps are scary--Happy Halloween!
Lee Mortimer heard of PA case that required Cong. maps to be redrawn & new election gave very different result. Analysis shows NC Ds will win fewer seats than their share of the votes using Chaudhuri's or Clark's map. PA system with partisan fairness incorporated directly better
Judith Kramer of Chatham concerned that Chatham map brings in 3 Randolph counties to dilute Chatham voters. Not needed to hit target range (for NCGA maps). Our voters were 55D-45R vs. Randolph only 18D.
Christopher Lako(?). Like others thinks an independent commission is the only way to solve this. We have no assurance from the past that we'll get fair districts. We need to meet the requirements for fair elections.
Chris Mansfield, Pitt voter, has looked at maps despite limited data. Real issue is that few provide for competitive races, although some are better than others. There are too many safe seats in the maps, splitting the county E-W instead of N-S. No real choice so no real voice
Kate Fellman, YouCanVote (Durham). Young voters are passionate about voting, being heard, but are disappointed by changing rules, districts. We need to help them get involved. Speakers today show we're failing to include those voters. Flawed maps continue to marginalize youth
Louis Gadol, Durham, UU and Sierra Club. Outcome matters more than process to draw maps. Only acceptable map would be a 7-7 map, accurately reflecting our state. Two 7-7 maps got As from @princetongerry, rest got Fs. Do what's right for the people of NC.
@princetongerry Martha Shafer of GSO. Wants Guilford kept whole, together with GSO, High Point, and WS, but local input ignored, splitting Guilford into 2 or 3 districts. Confusing and unnecessary, favors rural voters having more power. Triad now linked w/Harnett, far West, but not w/High Point!
@princetongerry Brent Heath expressing appreciation with most transparent map-drawing in his lifetime, following constitutional requirements. Thanks committee for a job well done! As fair as i've seen in recent years, don't stretch across the state.
@princetongerry Hise finishes reading no-shows (no more responses) and adjourns! Ba-bye!
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